Drug Cases at San Diego, California: 2019–2023 vs. 2024–2026

Trends › By Installation › San Diego, California › Article 112a

Based on 24 cases · 2024–2026 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

More Drug Cases Were Contested

The largest change at San Diego is the contested share. In 2019–2023, 22% of drug cases with a recorded plea were contested. In 2024–2026, 52% were.

A case is contested when the accused pleads not guilty to at least one charge, with a full not-guilty plea or a mixed plea. The plea is listed in 23 of the 24 recent records: 11 guilty pleas and 12 contested cases. Across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 112a cases in 2024–2026, the contested share was 38%. The San Diego share was higher.

How Did Contested Cases End?

All 12 contested cases reached a verdict. Of those, 6 ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of every charge. No contested case here ended in a partial acquittal, where the accused is acquitted of some charges and convicted of others.

The 50% full-acquittal rate is higher than the 40% in Navy and Marine Corps drug cases overall. In the earlier period, 3 of 8 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. These groups are small, and a few verdicts can change a rate. The comparison shows direction, not a precise rate.

2019–2023 Compared With 2024–2026

In 2019–2023, San Diego had 38 drug cases, about 8 a year. Counting full years only, the later period also had about 8 a year. The recent cases were 10 in 2024, 7 in 2025, and 7 in 2026. The 2026 count covers part of the year.

Other measures also changed. Convictions that included confinement went from 86% to 71%. Punitive discharges for convicted enlisted members went from 43% to 62%. General courts-martial went from 18% of the cases with a court level listed to 22%. The median confinement was 4 months in both periods.

Confinement After a Drug Conviction

The 24 cases produced 17 convictions, and 71% of them included confinement. The median confinement was 4 months, the same as the median across Navy and Marine Corps drug cases. A quarter of the confinement sentences were 1.2 years or longer.

These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case, so a sentence may reflect more than the drug charge.

Bad-Conduct and Dishonorable Discharges

A punitive discharge followed 62% of enlisted convictions: 6 bad-conduct discharges and 4 dishonorable discharges. Across all Navy and Marine Corps drug cases in 2024–2026, the share was 54%.

Only a general court-martial can impose a dishonorable discharge. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation, which these records do not cover.

Other Charges in the Same Cases

In 15 of the 24 cases, Article 112a was the only article charged. Across the Navy and Marine Corps, 67 of 121 Article 112a cases charged it alone. When other articles were charged, the most common was Article 81 (conspiracy), in 4 cases. Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 134 (general article) were charged in 2 each. Article 86 (AWOL) and Article 90 (disobeying an officer) were charged in 1 each.

Rank and Court Level

The accused were 13 junior enlisted members, 9 NCOs, and 0 officers. That mix is similar to Navy and Marine Corps drug cases overall. General courts-martial tried 5 of the 23 cases with a court level listed (22%), compared with 19% service-wide. The court level is not listed for 1 case. The rest were special courts-martial, which cap confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge.

Drug cases were 19% of all 126 courts-martial at San Diego in 2024–2026.

Law Changes and What the Records Cannot Show

When every guilty finding in a case is for an offense after December 27, 2023, the military judge sets the sentence within new sentencing parameters. That rule depends on the offense date, which these records do not give. Trials from 2024 on therefore mix cases sentenced under old and new rules. The records cannot show whether the rule change affected any figure here.

The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They also do not show the evidence, the plea terms, or any conduct handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative action. Drug cases that never reached a court-martial are not counted here.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 112a on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Federal Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare · Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025

About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.